Same Sex Marriage is Legal..What’s Next?

As of June 26th, the bonding of two people in the realm of marriage has no limits. Same sex marriage is now legal.

After a near five decades of fighting for equal relationship rights and being frowned upon by American large scale conservatism, the LBGT community has conquered a great feat for themselves while pushing the nation closer to true equality.

What’s next for the land of the free? Since two people are able to marry out of love, regardless of the ability to procreate, the boundaries of a religion, or anything else, this makes the possibilities endless on what will be legal next.

The possible next step would be to evaluate polygamy. Michael Guy, a student at the Clarkston campus, says, “Open relationships are becoming more and more popular among the younger demographics. I think [the legalization of same sex marriage] could lead to polygamy.”

“No one knows what is going to happen, but we can’t cross bridges that haven’t been built yet.” – Keeland Jones, GPC Newton

Polygamy, a marriage that involves more than two people, is outlawed in over sixty percent of the world. This large percentage includes the United States, where the act is fully criminalized.

The illegality of these polyamorous relationships stem from their prominence in the realm of Mormonism during the nineteenth century. During this time, the relationships entailed extreme acts that were seen as horrendously immoral.

In recent times, though, the openness of relationships have become more lenient. The legalization of same sex marriage serves as the icing on the cake in the world of marriage rights.

Jamar Smith, another Clarkston campus GPC student, says, “From an objective point of view, the legalization of same sex marriage speaks volumes. It says that traditional ‘man and wife’ relationships, with the purpose to have children, are no longer the norm. Now that two men or two women can get married, why can’t people get married to as many individuals as they please?”

Much akin to same sex marriage, the opposers to polygamy come in droves–with religion rooted as the main detractor of any marriage that is non-traditional.

In Christianity, there are extremely different views on polygamy. Mormons accept it. Other branches of Christianity, like Roman Catholicism, condemn polygamy, just as they condemn same sex marriage. Both acts are seen as transgressions on the integrity of marriage in religious doctrines, like the Catechism of the Catholic Church. An exception is Islam,where a man can take up to four wives only if he knows he can treat them equally.

Conservative Republicans and Democrats view polygamy as immoral and a threat to the future. More often than not, the ideologies of these traditional political parties are built upon a religious foundation.

“Traditional ‘man and wife’ relationships, with the purpose to have children, are no longer the norm…” – Jamar Smith, GPC Clarkston

Other parties see marriage as something that is out of the government’s control. For instance, the right wing Libertarian party support polygamy and its demotion as a crime. Other supporters of polyamorous relationships include individualist advocates, like feminists.

As far as the general public is concerned, media has played a role in influencing people’s point of views on polygamy.

For instance, television series, like Sister Wives, depict polygamy as harmless relationships that have the same amount of ups and downs as any other relationship.

Yizra Ghebre, a Clarkston student, went on to say, “This is a topic that has nothing to do with me.” As for the GPC student body, many student feel the same as Yizra. A significant amount of students view polygamy and same sex marriage as a topic that does not affect them.

Many students went on the say they were not sure what would come next after same sex marriage becoming legal. Keeland Jones, a Newton campus student, says, “No one knows what is going to happen, but we can’t cross bridges that haven’t been built yet.”

Britney Sparks is a staff writer for the Collegian. Tune in to Outside The Perimeter for more stories like this one.